Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving made it clear Tuesday how much he values experience as he searches for a new coach to replace Glen Gulutzan.

This team and this management group simply can’t afford to go through any more growing pains.

With that in mind we present the top candidates:

Bill Peters, head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes.

BILL PETERS

NHL record: 137-138-53

The 51-year-old native of Three Hills, Alta., is the early favourite to take the job – he has been for over a month as insiders knew of Peters’ out-clause in Carolina and figured Glen Gulutzan would get the axe if the Flames missed the playoffs.

There’s a familiarity there as Peters was the coach of Canada’s gold-medal-winning world championship team that Treliving was co-GM for in 2016.

Peters played at Red Deer College under Mike Babcock and essentially cut his coaching teeth as an assistant with the Spokane Chiefs before getting his first head coaching gig with the University of Lethbridge.

A return to Spokane as head coach saw him lead the Chiefs to a Memorial Cup in 2007-08 before a three-year stint coaching Rockford of the AHL.

As assistant’s job with Detroit led to his four-year stint running the Hurricanes.

The knock on him will be that he has no playoff experience as an NHL head coach, as the perennially undermanned ’Canes have yet to qualify for the post-season under him. His team also faded down the stretch this year, just like the Flames.

Hurricane’s president, Don Waddell, said several teams have asked for permission to speak to Peters, who has until Friday to opt-out of the final year of a deal paying him $1.6 million.

He has a solid international record, having led Canada to gold at the under-18 Ivan Hlinka tourney in 2008 as well as gold as an assistant at the 2015 worlds and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

He is said to have a strong desire to return to Alberta where he has spent so much of his life.

Peters has never been afraid to call out players, which is something that could go a long way around here.

He is the head coach of Canada’s world championship team this month, so rumours will increase if Treliving flies to Denmark to see the tourney.

Former Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter.

DARRYL SUTTER

NHL record: 634-467-83

Boy, does this possibility get chins wagging.

He has, um, several ties to the province and the city.

Okay, let’s be real – he’s as known a commodity as there is out there.

The question is whether the Flames would dare go back to the Sutter well for the fourth time.

A two-time Stanley Cup winner in Los Angeles after his eight years in Calgary ended in 2010, the 59-year-old resident of Viking, Alta., certainly ticks several boxes in terms of what the Flames need.

A taskmaster who immediately commands the attention of every team he’s taken over, Sutter wouldn’t put up with the handful of players on the Flames roster who aren’t in tune with the notion of trying to out-will opponents with whatever it takes to win.

He wouldn’t come cheap, but Treliving insists ownership has not constricted him in terms of a coaching budget.

Misty-eyed Flames fans remember him as a great coach (but a poor GM) who dragged the Flames to the 2004 Cup final. He was the last coach in Calgary to establish an identity for the team, compiling a 107-73-15-15 record as a tough, relentless and physical team nobody liked to play against.

However, today’s game is no longer about brawn, but speed.

Dave Tippett, former head coach of the Arizona Coyotes.

DAVE TIPPETT

NHL record: 553-413-28-120

Considered to be one of the best NHL coaching candidates on the sidelines all season, Tippett is an interesting possibility as it relates to the Flames.

Treliving and Tippett worked together for many years in Arizona, where the coach was the Jack Adams Award winner in 2009-10 when he led the Coyotes to a 28-point improvement from the previous year.

He made a similar impact in Dallas when he started a six-year stint there by improving the Star’s fortunes by 21 points his first year.

That’s the sort of shot in the arm the Flames are looking for.

As Tippett’s longtime assistant GM, Treliving would know all about what Tippett can and can’t bring to the table.

Tippett, 56, ultimately won a power struggle in the desert that saw GM Don Maloney get ousted, which adds an interesting wrinkle as Maloney is a now a Flames staffer who is close with Treliving.

A longtime NHL player and Olympian, Tippett has 14 years of NHL head coaching experience, winning three division titles and twice getting to the conference finals.

Former New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault.

ALAIN VIGNEAULT

NHL record: 648-435-35-98

Another Jack Adams Award winner who has won two Presidents Trophy and made two appearances in the Stanley Cup finals, Vigneault is armed with plenty of experience.

Recently relieved by the New York Rangers, the price tag for the former Canucks and Canadiens coach would be high.

With 20 years experience in the NHL he has made the playoffs nine of the last 10 years.

There are reports he wasn’t interested in being part of a rebuild in New York.

Surely he wouldn’t see Calgary as a rebuild, given the strong, core pieces in place already.

Former Dallas Stars head coach.

LINDY RUFF

NHL record: 736-554-78-125

He spent 15 years squeezing everything he could out of the Sabres before moving onto Dallas for four more seasons.

Sixth all-tie in NHL coaching wins, he certainly has the experience and the Alberta ties, as he was born in tiny Warburg and played junior in Lethbridge and Taber.

A Jack Adams winner in 2006, the 58-year-old has won three division titles and lost in the Stanley Cup final once.

He was an assistant with the Rangers this year.

THE REST

Should Barry Trotz’s Washington Capitals lose in the first round there’s a chance he could be fired, opening the door for a possible hire there.

After all, the Manitoba native has endless western Canadian ties and has won three consecutive division titles with the Caps.

Oilers coach Todd McLellan would also be of interest if Edmonton parts ways with him.

As impressive as Ryan Huska has been with the Stockton Heat Treliving isn’t willing to go through any more growing pains, trying out hotshot minor league coaches. That eliminates candidates like Tim Hunter (Moose Jaw) and Sheldon Keefe with the Toronto Marlies.

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